Moving to Cleveland Heights, north of Mayfield. Should I be worried?

[Clevelander17]

I've had conversations with people on other message boards about this specific area, and personally I think that all but maybe 5% of that neighborhood should be leveled and they should start over. Imagine the possibilities of extending Coventry further North and creating a mixed-use neighborhood that is incredibly close proximity to Little Italy, UC, and the Clinic. Or, if mixed-use isn't realistic, simply level it all and extend Forest Hills Park to include this area (close off Superior completely). This would go a long ways towards stabilizing adjacent Cleveland Heights neighborhoods and businesses because there's little doubt in my mind that Superior acts as a criminal expressway bringing problems up the hill into CH.

The problem, as others have pointed out, is that part of this area is actually in East Cleveland, a city that is paralyzed to do anything these days. Hopefully if/when the EC is dissolved (i.e. merges with Cleveland), this little neighborhood can go to Cleveland Heights instead of Cleveland and real changes can occur.

[bluecarebear]

This is what I don't get. The neighborhoods on the East Side are super close to the Lake, downtown, museums, universities, parks, main street neighborhoods, etc. and yet they are the worst in the city. In other major cities it is the opposite and a similar district would be considered prime real estate. What gives?

[Cleverfield]

History: White flight, redlining, block-busting, race riots, corruption. Also, most neighborhoods on the East Side weren't particularly wealthy to begin with, and had cheap, small houses that, when not kept up, were deemed not worth fixing. East Cleveland was wealthy at one time, but racial discrimination and corrupt politicians destroyed it.

[Clevelander17]

While institutional racism and discrimination is a big part of how we got here, on the other hand there are a lot of people living in these areas that engage in various activities that make them undesirable neighbors for potential homeowners. Some of it I understand is out of desperation. However a few decades ago Cleveland Heights was a top-ranked school system and its scores haven't slowly gone down because the quality of the schools themselves (teachers, administrators, etc.) have gotten worse, it's because the people now using the schools don't really take advantage of them as much as possible. One potential solution--education--is essentially free for many people living in these types of neighborhoods and it's a great chance to change one's circumstances, yet the opportunity is passing by many folks.

[Kamms]

Originally Posted by Cleverfield

History: White flight, redlining, block-busting, race riots, corruption. Also, most neighborhoods on the East Side weren't particularly wealthy to begin with, and had cheap, small houses that, when not kept up, were deemed not worth fixing. East Cleveland was wealthy at one time, but racial discrimination and corrupt politicians destroyed it.

You forgot to mention black flight. How was East Cleveland ''destroyed'' by discrimination and corrupt politicians?

[Kamms]

Originally Posted by Cleverfield

History: White flight, redlining, block-busting, race riots, corruption. Also, most neighborhoods on the East Side weren't particularly wealthy to begin with, and had cheap, small houses that, when not kept up, were deemed not worth fixing. East Cleveland was wealthy at one time, but racial discrimination and corrupt politicians destroyed it.

You also forgot to mention forced busing, a huge contributor to Cleveland's abandonment and decline. What a huge mistake.